By Staff Reporter
A new 610-metre two-lane bridge between the intersection of Al Meydan Street and Ras Al Khor Street towards Deira, will open on Sunday, Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has confirmed.
This is the fourth bridge along the busy Al Khail Road that will open as part of the major Al Khail Road Development Project, involving the construction of 3,300-metre-long bridges and the widening of lanes stretching more than 6,820 metres.
As final touches on the new bridge were being done on Saturday, Hamad Al Shehhi, director of RTA’s Traffic and Roads Agency, told Khaleej Times: “The new bridge opening on October 13 will have a capacity to accommodate up to 3,200 vehicles per hour, connecting traffic from Meydan Street to Al Khail Road towards Deira.
Surface road improvements have also been done covering 1,550 metres, connecting traffic from Al Khail Road towards Ras Al Khor Street.”
Another traffic issue that will be solved by the new bridge is to eliminate weaving – or the practice by motorists to move obliquely from one lane to the adjacent lane – as there will now be separate lanes for those heading towards Deira, and another path for those going to Ras Al Khor.
30% reduction in travel time
Al Shehhi noted Al Khail Road Development Project “will expand the capacity of current intersections and bridges by approximately 19,600 vehicles per hour to streamline the traffic flow along Al Khail Road, eliminate traffic overlapping at flyovers crossing Al Khail Road, ensure a smooth traffic flow, and cut down travel times by 30 per cent.”
“Al Khail Road is one of the major highways in Dubai that has been serving more than 1.5 million of Dubai’s population and is used by more than 300,000 vehicles every day,” he noted.
The mega-project will improve traffic flow across seven areas along Al Khail Road, including Zaa’beel, Meydan, Al Quoz 1, Al Jaddaf, Ghadeer Al Tair, and Jumeirah Village Circle.
Al Shehhi also took note of the fast turnaround of the project as bridges were completed in less than nine months.
Three bridges have been opened recently to the public, including the one in Zaa’beel, linking traffic from Al Khail Road to Financial Centre Street towards Sheikh Zayed Road; another in Al Quoz 1, connecting traffic from Al Khail Road to Al Waha Street and Latifa Bint Hamdan Street; and the third between the intersections of Hessa and Al Khamila streets, serving the Jumeirah Village Circle community.
Al Shehhi said the last of the five bridges will open next week. It is located between Latifa interchange and Meydan interchange, and will complete the Al Khail Road Development Project.
